I Don’t Know What To Think About My Blazers
If you didn’t know, the Portland Trail Blazers are my favorite team. You should also know that they infuriate me, and they’ve done it again.
*sigh* I’m one of the most negative Blazers fans I know. This franchise is the epitome of shooting themselves in the foot, reloading, and then doing it again. But, after years of mediocrity, I thought we were finally going to reset. Admit we were wrong.
Alas, this team doesn’t know how to do that. After one down year, the Blazers have thrown themselves back into the lion’s den. And I don’t know what to make of it.
The Offseason
At the trade deadline, the Blazers decided to pull the plug. After a flurry of moves, Portland had something they hadn’t had in ages. Cap space. Portland had created around $20 million dollars in cap space, plus a sizeable trade exception.
In other words, retooling 101. Neil Olshey was too cowardly to ever do something like this, but interim (and now permanent) GM Joe Cronin did what needed to be done. Here’s what the Blazers did with their newfound space;
- Trade for Jerami Grant
- Re-Sign Jusuf Nurkic
- Re-Sign Anfernee Simons
- Sign Gary Payton II
- Draft Shaedon Sharpe
Now, I’ve already said my two cents for most of these moves. But, I’ll summarize them. Getting Grant and Payton were major defensive additions. Re-signing the likes of Nurkic and Simons were no-brainers. Portland had no other choice but to re-sign those guys, especially Simons.
As for Shaedon Sharpe, well, I’ll quote my past self on this one. Warning: I was angry;
“SHARPE IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST MYSTERIES IN THE DRAFT. IF THE BLAZERS GO ALL IN, IS HE REALLY GOING TO GET THE DEVELOPMENT HE DESERVES? I PROBABLY SHOULDN’T BE COMPLAINING BECAUSE THIS IS THE HIGHEST UPSIDE PLAYER PORTLAND HAS DRAFTED SINCE DAME, BUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH DYSON DANIELS?”
Sharpe’s shoulder injury sidelined his summer league career. So that’s nice. Of all the moves the Blazers made this offseason, I disliked this one the most. As I said when the pick happened, Sharpe’s raw potential is the exact opposite of what a win-now Blazers team is trying to accomplish.
I’m not a fan of that win-now ideology, but if you’re going to go down that path, at least do it 100%. I guess that would be the best way to explain this…
Mr. Trailblazer
It’s hard to find a harder Damian Lillard defender than myself. Sure, he has his flaws. But he’s the best player in Blazers franchise history. No offense to Walton or Drexler, who had more team success, but Lillard is Mr. Trailblazer. I don’t know if anyone can argue that.
Every time his back is against the wall, he fights like hell. I could recant his clutch heroics for days. From his fourth quarter explosion against OKC in January of 2017 (he is a monster, Mike Rice), to his Nuggets supernova in 2021, I digress.
Again, I love Lillard as much as the next guy. He’s been the only reason this team has remained watchable in recent seasons. But giving him a two-year extension worth $122 million is…just weird.
Damian Lillard is 32 years old. While his abdomen injury may be behind him, he’s not in his prime anymore. The Blazers will be paying Dame $40-60 million dollars a season into the part of a player’s career where they’re on the decline. That doesn’t seem wise.
Look. I get loyalty and all that. It goes both ways. Damian Lillard has loyalty and dedication that I, or anybody in his situation, could dream of. Winning a title here would be “more fulfilling,” and I get that. But giving Lillard that contract is such a huge risk.
These are the type of massive, expensive baseball contracts that backfire. Just ask the Angels how Albert Pujols worked out. If Portland doesn’t win a title in the next 2-3 seasons (unlikely), then what? Well, we’re stuck paying Damian Lillard $61 million in 2028. That’s what we’re doing.
This move will more than likely handicap Portland in the future. These types of contracts, while they’re becoming more common, are damn near untradeable. I have a gut feeling that we’ll see this extension on a ‘worst decisions of the past 10 years’ list.
Just saying.
The Wrong Attitude
Joe Cronin is doing his best to appease Damian Lillard. But bending over backward in this manner is just plain stupid. For years, the Blazers were an average team that couldn’t make it over the hump. Now, they’re trying to scramble to win a title.
Just because you made one mistake(s) doesn’t mean you have to make another. Portland should have admitted they were wrong. It’s a shocking idea, I know. Instead of trying to retool, why not just rebuild? It makes more sense any way you slice it.
Dame could go to a contending team, and this team could start over. I know it’s hard to admit we failed one of the 75 greatest players in league history, but we already did that. That’s why it’s frustrating to see this team killing its future for another second-round appearance at best. This team isn’t winning it all. I can say that confidently.
This team is still full of questions, starting with Chauncey Billups. Other than playing hard, nothing he did last season stood out to me. Will he give this team the new taste it desperately needs?
I guess what I’m trying to say is…did this team change? Or is it just a carbon copy of those sad, middling Olshey teams under Stotts. Those overly conservative teams who were always ok with being just good. From the outside looking in, I don’t think this team has changed. Not one bit.
As always, you’ll catch me watching (almost) every one of their games. But let’s just say I’ll have my expectations tabled. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to convince myself that Shaedon Sharpe won’t be a bust.
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